Evaluation of NMR predictors for accuracy and ability to reveal trends in 1 H NMR spectra of fatty acids.

Four different nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) predictors have been evaluated for their ability to predict 600-MHz 1 H spectra of free fatty acids and fatty acid methyl esters of 20 common fatty acids. The predictors were evaluated on two main criteria: (1) their accuracy in direct prediction of the spectra (absolute accuracy) and (2) the ability to reveal trends or predict the change that occurs in the spectra as a result of a change in the fatty acid carbon chain, or by esterification of the free fatty acids to methyl esters (relative accuracy). The absolute accuracy in chemical shift prediction for fatty acids was good, compared with previous reports on a broader range of compounds. All four predictors had median prediction errors for chemical shifts of the signals in fatty acid methyl esters well below 0.1 ppm and as low as 0.015 ppm for one of the predictors. However, all predictors also had outliers with errors far above the upper interquartile range. In general, they also fail to reproduce trends of diagnostic value that were observed in the experimental data or properly predict the result of a minor change in molecular structure. All four predictors depend on experimental data from different origins. This may be a limiting factor for the relative accuracy of the predictors.

Transfer of retention patterns in gas chromatography by means of response surface methodology.

Accurate transfer of retention patterns in temperature-programmed gas chromatography is challenging because minor variations in column properties and experimental conditions may have significant impact on the elution patterns. An experimental method for accurate transfer of retention indices is proposed and validated. The methodology is based on response surface methodology and experimental design. The temperature rate and the start temperature of the rate are varied systematically in the region where the optimal conditions are expected to be found. Response surfaces that explain the absolute deviation to the target retention indices are calculated for each compound. These response surfaces are thereafter averaged and the minimum in the average surface is regarded as optimal conditions for reproduction of the retention pattern. The methodology was applied on fatty acid methyl esters using equivalent chain lengths as the retention index system. Two different target patterns were tested on two BPX-70 columns with different dimensions. Validation of the proposed conditions showed that the retention patterns could be reproduced with an error that was only fractions of a peak width.